“The system of squares” in Gibellina, an architecture for the community
Thinking of Sicily immediately brings to mind the Temples of Agrigento, the countless Baroque beauties, the narrow, paved streets, and, of course, the delicious food. But the Island is not just that! Trinacria boasts a pulsating presence of contemporary works of architecture, most often created to fill deep gaps in pre-existing structures.
Everything changed on a winter night
Near Trapani is Gibellina, a small town that after the earthquake of Belice in ’68 found itself completely destroyed along with other nearby towns. And for several decades it remained a slum.
The tremors began to be felt about lunchtime on Jan. 14, 1968, and were followed by others in the afternoon that already caused several damages among the towns of Gibellina, Menfi, and Partanna. It was thought that everything had ended like that. But on the night of January 15, a very violent tremor, which was felt as far as the island of Pantelleria, delivered the final blow and destroyed all the towns in the Belice region. The damage was truly devastating, with hundreds killed and several injured. People had lost everything in a matter of seconds.
A reconstruction project
Over the years, there was a need to rebuild the razed city. So, one part has been redesigned and recreated from scratch, while the other is expressed through a phantom memory of what was the Gibellina Vecchia
: the famous Cretto of Gibellina.The need first to restore life then identity to the town pushed Ludovico Corrao
, a politician and lawyer, to gather several artists from all over Europe, who later participated by beautifying the city with their works. Defined as one of the largest open-air museums of modern art, Gibellina Nuova reopens to the world with a’Huge Entrance Star24m high, as a symbol of rebirth, by Pietro Consagra, visible even from afar.
It was architects Franco Purini and Laura Thermes who designed the entire new face of the Gibellina Nuova
. In particular, they devised a large urban structure lying on the ground, organizing a system of squares that placed in a perspective sequence, emphasized the repetition of geometric elements that changed from time to time to create a new view.
The system of squares
The naming of the 5 squares derives from names evocative of Italian history, such as Piazza della Rivola, Piazza Fasci dei Lavoratori, Piazza Monti di Gibellina, Piazza Autonomia Siciliana, and Piazza Portella della Ginestra.
Only the first three were made between 1987 and 1990. The portico was designed on a classical matrix that extends along two of the three concatenated squares, excluding the northern one, which is bordered only by a lower portico. The geometry of these squares is in every detail: the pitch of the portico span that corresponds to the modular system of paving made of two-tone granite, a symbol of Sicily’s Mediterranean colors.
In addition, the simplicity of the sequence is made complex at the terminal points, where the rule breaks against the directions of the road lines. The contrast between light and shadow results in complex volumetric compositions.
Color as the key to a metaphysical world
When you enter this system, you are able to perceive a metaphysical aura that goes beyond the forms of the project. Color stands out dissonantly as the true expression of the work through the use of different materials, including Mazara tuff, lava stone, travertine, and red stone, which alternate to create creative chaos in the geometric order.
An open-air theater
The architects for this project devised a double order along the arcades of the two squares
outermost on which the entire space of the squares can be admired from an elevated height. In addition, the designers recreated a women’s gallery with rectangular windows, decorated with colorful ceramics. An open-air theater in short, which wherever you look at it, returns a fragment of art and history. The arcade is interrupted by two openings, one with octagonal geometry, the other circular.
When to visit Gibellina Nuova
Gibellina always lends itself to being visited and explored, but in February it can be found in celebration for the
Ciocco Fest in Belice, in which chocolate is celebrated with workshops, shows and tastings.
The following month, however, is the Feast of St. Joseph of Gibellina, characterized by the tradition of votive altars and lunch a li “virgineddi.”
Next, during spring and summer, the city never stops! Events such as that of the Ranni, the
Sirocco Wine Fest, or the Feast of the Patron Saint Rocco with the procession of the simulacrum.
One is spoiled for choice.
Giulia Nari
Credits top photo: area-arch.co.uk